LONDON, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
Blackbird plc (AIM: BIRD), the developer and seller of
the market-leading cloud video platform Blackbird, has announced
that TownNews has extended its adoption of Blackbird for the rapid
production of digital news content. This is the third such
deployment within a year.
TownNews has added an additional 14 US TV stations that will use
Blackbird - bringing the total to 39 stations in 24 states. The
additional stations are owned by seven broadcast groups that
provide premium local news content to millions of viewers across
the United States.
Blackbird enables TownNews' partners to rapidly view, edit and
publish video content no matter their location. When paired with
the TownNews Field59 VMS, news stories can be delivered with
unprecedented speed and control using Blackbird's browser-based
cloud video platform.
In June 2018 TownNews launched the
combined solution into 17 Meredith Corporation locations across 11
states. In December 2018, they
extended this further into three networks owned by Block
Communications.
Local TV news networks in the US comprise over 350 stations
producing around six hours of news content per weekday. The
industry as a whole generates nearly $28
billion of revenue annually. The move to the consumption of
digital news has been rapid with 43% of US adults now often
sourcing news from websites and social media (source: Pew Research
Centre).
Derek Gebler, TownNews VP of
Broadcast and Video, said: "We're excited to expand our
productive partnership with Blackbird. When combined with TownNews'
Field59 VMS, Blackbird gives our broadcast television customers an
extremely fast, efficient, browser-based workflow for capturing,
editing, and distributing their video content."
Ian McDonough, CEO of Blackbird,
said: "Our strong partnership with the successful TownNews group is
growing quickly and has doubled the number of networks served
within a year. Blackbird and TownNews now serve 39 networks in 24
US states which demonstrates our scalability.
"The American news industry is evolving rapidly to accommodate
digital consumption. This is where TownNews and Blackbird can add
significant revenue advantages in speed and productivity.
Commercially our partnership is a great example of a successful OEM
strategy where Blackbird and TownNews land and then expand."
About Blackbird plc
Blackbird operates in the fast-growing SaaS and cloud video
market, and has created the world's most advanced suite of
cloud-native computing applications for video, all underpinned by
its lightning-fast codec. Blackbird's patented technology allows
for frame accurate navigation, playback, viewing and editing in the
cloud. Blackbird underpins multiple applications, which are used by
rights holders, broadcasters, sports and news video specialists,
esports, live events and content owners, post-production houses,
other mass market digital video channels and corporations.
Since it is cloud-native, Blackbird removes the need for costly,
high end workstations and can be used from almost anywhere on
almost any device. It also allows full visibility on multi-location
digital content, improves time to market for live content such as
video clips and highlights for social media distribution, and
ultimately results in much more effective monetisation.
Blackbird® is a registered trademark of Blackbird plc.
Websites
www.blackbird.video
Social media
www.linkedn.com/company/blackbird-cloud
www.twitter.com/blackbirdcloud
www.facebook.com/blackbirdplc
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SOURCE Blackbird plc